A man was found dead late Monday at the scene of an apartment fire in Waukegan. The Waukegan Fire Department was called at 5:15 p.m. for a fire at 542 Washington St. in Waukegan, near the downtown area. Firefighters found an apartment on fire on the 10th floor of a 12-story building and put out the fire. At the scene, they found the body of an elderly man, who was pronounced dead on the scene. The fire was contained to one unit and no one else was displaced. The fire department is investigating with the help of Waukegan police, the Illinois State Fire Marshal's office, and the Lake County Coroner's office.  

Former Gurnee Fire Chief Samuel J. Dada, who was so revered that village leaders named a street after him, died Friday at the age of 91. Dada started with the department in 1948 when it was a volunteer outfit with three trucks run out of McClure's Garage and Towing. Six years later, he was Gurnee's fire chief, a position he held for 35 years. Dada was instrumental in the department's evolution, according to the message announcing his death on the village website. "He was a true servant of the community," current Gurnee Fire Chief John Kavanagh said. "The fire service, and the men and women of the Gurnee Fire Department, lost a great leader and friend." Beyond his service with the fire department, Dada also was the superintendent of public works and a building commissioner for the village for a time. "He was dedicated for decades to public service," Mayor Kristina Kovarik said. "He truly exemplified the greatest generation (and) the selflessness they showed in putting their community first."  

Two nights in a row someone has jumped to their death in the frigid and dirty waters of Joliet's Des Plaines River canal. This time, a body was recovered from the water. Joliet Fire Chief Greg Blaskey told Joliet Patch that Monday night's incident occurred near the Jackson Street Bridge around 7:15 p.m. The Joliet Police Department was called to the bridge after an unidentified man had jumped in the Des Plaines River. Officers could see the man in the water, and while officers were trying to take measures to rescue the man, he went underwater and never resurfaced, the Joliet Police Department stated. Around 8:30 p.m. Joliet's temperature was 27 degrees. After an extensive search using divers from the Joliet Fire Department and the Plainfield Fire Department, plus a boat from the U.S. Coast Guard, the unidentified man was pulled from the water around 9:40 p.m., according to Joliet police.  

Wood River Fire Department responded to a structure fire at the corner of Tenth Street and Hawthorne Avenue Sunday night. Firefighters were dispatched to smoke in the area. As the Wood River Police Department was searching the area a police officer located the apartment on fire. Wood River Fire Department called for the Roxana Fire Department to help at the scene. Firefighters found a bedroom that had heavy fire and smoke. Firefighters were able to knock down the fire quickly without much damage. "The fire started in the bedroom, possibly in the bed. We are still investigating the cause of the fire," Wood River Fire Chief Wade Stalhut said. No injuries were reported.  

A north La Salle home burned Saturday night for unknown reasons; the two occupants though are safe. La Salle firemen responded to 831 ½ O'Conor behind the old John's North Star Inn around 10pm. A small wood framed home – positioned behind another – had flames showing in the rear when fire personnel arrived. Lt. Brian Zeller said two women living there got out safely. Fire moved up through a wall into a converted attic. It's a total loss and the state fire marshall has examined the scene, but said nothing. The Red Cross was assisting the two living there. Additional help came from Peru, Utica and Oglesby.  

VIDEO: Harrisburg city's fire department has released video from a firefighter's helmet camera that shows the rescue of a North 15th Street resident from his burning home shortly after first crews arrived. Chief Brian Enterline said the man was seen by firefighters at a second-floor, bedroom window in the 1400 block of North 15th as they were making initial exterior checks of the structure. The man, who has not been named, was successfully pulled out by responding firefighters, and received treatment for smoke inhalation at Holy Spirit Hospital. Enterline said he was in good condition as of Sunday night. Unfortunately, another resident in the residence died in the blaze, which was dispatched at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. Enterline said the city and Dauphin County Coroner's office expect to release more information on the victim and what investigators have learned about the blaze on Tuesday. As of Monday night, however, he could confirm that the fire was accidental in nature.  

Nearly 200 San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel have so far turned down a COVID-19 vaccine, showing reluctance as health officials scramble to protect frontline workers like firefighters from the highly infectious coronavirus. As of Wednesday, 191 personnel had declined to take the vaccine; 895 had gotten the shot, according to department figures. The vaccine is available to all of the department's roughly 1,500 employees, including lifeguards and non-sworn staff, a spokeswoman said. The force includes 943 firefighters, who double as paramedics or emergency medical technicians, placing them on the front lines of the pandemic. As of Wednesday, 99 firefighters had tested positive, according to the department. Department spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz said the vaccination figures may not account for vaccines administered by employees' health care providers, adding that the department is not privy to personal health information.  

As rental and home prices increase throughout the state, some firefighters say they can't afford to live in the communities they work in. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Carolina's annual mean wage in 2019 was $36,360, one of the lowest in the country. Bill Pesature, the vice president of the Professional Firefighters Association of SC, says salaries for firefighters have not kept up with the cost of living. "They can't live where they work anymore. It just doesn't happen," Pesature said. "You need to raise your rates for what you pay people and take care of your people. Retention is vital." Pesature also says many firefighters are leaving the state for better pay, and investments aren't being made into the people who have been in fire departments for a long time. Instead, money is being used to train new people. Justin Lenker, the president of Midway Professional Firefighters Association Local 3617 and a firefighter with Midway Fire Rescue, says their salaries tend to be lower, and the cost of living on Pawley's Island is about 11% higher than surrounding areas.  

One-hundred -twenty-six years ago this past week, the city of Butte was rocked by a massive explosion that killed 58 people. On January 15th 1895, the Kenyon-Connell Warehouse explosion not only ended the lives of its innocent victims; it devastated their families and broke the city's heart. For some time now, community leaders, historians and artists have been working on a project to construct a monument to honor the men who died in that explosion. Butte Historical Memorials, a non-profit, has published a book about the explosion and its aftermath called 'Out of the Ashes: The Forgotten Story of the 1895 Butte Explosion.' To begin a retelling of the story, the group's chairman Jim McCarthy and its vice-chairwoman Lindsay Mulcahy took NBC Montana to an industrial section of the city. Home to warehouses and empty fields scattered with old machinery, Lindsay told us "we are at Ground Zero of the Butte Warehouse explosion site."